Beliefs on Leadership

I try to read some leadership books over the summer when the opportunity presents itself. One leader that I've grown to admire is Bill Parcells, who was recently inducted into the National Football League Hall of Fame as a Super Bowl winning coach. Coach Parcells has several quotes/beliefs that I have bought into. One is "what gets measured gets improved." To me, this means that what you focus on and identify as an area of improvement gets the attention it needs. It is a leader's job to identify and communicate what needs to improve. Once that determination is made, an action plan can be into place to improve results. Coach Parcells also believes that "what you tolerate, you encourage." If you tolerate mediocrity, you are encouraging it. If you tolerate less than a maximum effort, you are in fact encouraging it.

My favorite "Parcellism" is that "all winning organizations have a comfortable level of discomfort." I have absolutely found this to be the case and the YPS administrative team and I discuss this quite often. To be a winning team, you have to be pushing forward. You can't be in a comfort zone. You need to celebrate successes and accomplishments but you don't have time to sit around and reflect on how good things are; you must keep improving. It is OK for teams to never feel 100% satisfied or comfortable. We all need to keep our edge and hunger for success.

Bill's favorite speech has now become mine. It is titled, "The Man in the Glass" and it was written by Dale Wimbrow. To me, it is about personal accountability and being your own harshest critic. We all need to have high expectations for ourselves. We need to put more pressure on ourselves than others do. We need to reach for the stars and believe in ourselves. The rest of the world sometimes tries to tear us down but if we can stay true to the person in the mirror, we're on the right track!

THE MAN IN THE GLASS by Dale Wimbrow

When you get what you want in your struggle for self,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that man has to say.

For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Whose judgment upon you must pass.
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the man staring back from the glass.

You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,
And think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.

He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear up to the end,
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may get what you want down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the guy in the glass.